Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) (33 page)

“Notice that I’m not grilling you right now,” she said. “But I
would love to know what we’re doing here again. I don’t like this place.”

“I’m looking for somebody.” Distracted, I moved through the
church trying to sense something, feel something.

Ten minutes later, the door squeaked and I spun around to see
the angel in question had returned to his perch.

“Hey, Samantha,” Connor said when he spotted me. “Good to see
you. Bishop’s not here, he’s out patrolling. Roth’s still missing. We also got
information that there are next to no grays left in the city and he’s trying to
confirm it. Most dropped dead after stasis.”

My mouth went dry. “Next to no grays left? Seriously?”

“As far as we know, it’s just your pal, Stephen, for sure. The
guys tell me you’re all cured.” He eyed me with curiosity. “You’re no longer
hungry for souls, right?”

No, I was hungry for something, but it wasn’t for souls.
“That’s right.”

“Well, good. I mean, I’m not promising anything, but if
Stephen’s the only one still breathing, that means we’re close to finishing this
mission.” He glanced to my left. “Jordan, you’re back.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Too bad that memory wipe didn’t work last night. Everything
would be a lot easier then, huh?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, maybe. For
you.
”

Jordan was making friends all over the place with that charming
personality of hers.

I was busy reeling from the possibility that Stephen might be
the last gray in the city. The team had been patrolling for more than two weeks
trying to take care of the gray problem. But to think that it was close to being
over...

Of course, Carly would still be a gray, too.

Carly...

I shoved her image away and focused on the angel standing
directly in front of me.

“I came here to talk to you, Connor.”

“Me?” He pointed at himself. “That’s sweet, Sam. I know we
haven’t had much time to get to know each other very well.”

“No, we haven’t. You were the last to arrive, not counting
Cassandra.”

His expression shadowed at her name. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Connor, what did you mean last night about that angel being a
distraction?”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “What?”

“I heard you. You mumbled it to yourself. You said that she was
a distraction and that you didn’t know what his game was or where he’s hiding.
Who’s
he?
Who were you talking about?”

Connor’s jaw tightened. “I think you must have been hearing
things.”

“Nope. I’m completely positive about what I heard.”

He shot a glance at Jordan, then back at me. “Okay, ladies,
lovely chatting with the two of you, but I really need to get back out there and
do my job.”

When he turned toward the door I ran toward him and grabbed his
arm. “Connor, please. You need to talk to me. You know something and you need to
tell me what it is.”

He turned to face me. “What’s your deal, anyway? Why are you
even a part of this? How are you not a gray anymore—just like that? Bishop won’t
tell us anything he knows, but there’s something weird about you.”

“Tell me about it,” Jordan murmured.

“You know way too much about everything,” Connor continued, his
gaze narrowing. “And how do you see the searchlights? How did you get a message
to Bishop about where you were locked up? How do you read our minds?”

“Want me to do it right now?” I asked. “Because I will if you
don’t start talking.”

“You can try. I’m way older than I look so I’m pretty good at
blocking that sort of thing, especially if I know to expect it.”

He was right. Even staring him right in his eyes I couldn’t
break through the wall he had up. There had to be another way. I didn’t have
time for this.

I hissed out a breath of frustration. “If I tell you why I can
do stuff, then you have to tell me something about what you know. Can we make
that deal?”

Connor cocked his head, considering. “Maybe. If what you’ve got
to say is good enough.”

I said it before I second-guessed myself. “I’m a nexus.”

His eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“Sounds like a car,” Jordan mused aloud. “An expensive one. Oh,
wait. That’s Lexus.”

I tried to ignore her commentary. “You guessed what I was the
moment you got here, but then you doubted yourself.”

“Holy crap, you’re a nexus. I knew it!” He frowned and shook
his head. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because Bishop told me not to. He said it was too
dangerous.”

“Well, yeah. Guaranteed. But really, that mostly depends on who
your birth parents were.”

I shot him a look of surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Do you know who they were?”

“Sort of. A little.” Bishop thought this was the be-all,
end-all of secrets, but I didn’t regret saying anything. I was really sick of
secrets. Secrets had gotten Cassandra killed by her own hand. Secrets had kept
Bishop’s dark past hidden for far too long. Secrets were what I now wanted to
get out of Connor to keep everyone alive.

Secrets only made everything more confusing and helped no
one.

“Demon dad or demon mom?” he asked.

“My birth father was a demon named Nathan, who jumped into the
Hollow seventeen years ago.”

Connor gaped at me. “Holy crap.”

“You already said that.”

“Nathan. He wouldn’t happen to be any relation to the demon
named Natalie, would he?”

This time I gaped at him. “You knew about my aunt Natalie? Why
didn’t you say anything?”

He cringed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“What do you know about them? About
him?
” I grabbed his arm tighter and then looked down at where I held
on to him. My unidentified hunger suddenly seemed to wake up and zone in...

On Connor.

My fingers dug deeper into his flesh and Connor started to
tremble.

“I can feel that. What are you doing, Sam?” he asked, his voice
raspy. “What are you doing to me? Stop it!”

It was his energy. It sparked against my skin like a live wire.
I could actually see it. His supernatural energy was the same glowing, celestial
blue that an angel’s eyes turned. And with a touch, I suddenly realized I could
absorb it into myself to feed my brand-new hunger.

And it tasted really, really good.

Chapter 32

“Let go of him!” Jordan tried wrenching me away from
the angel, but failed. “God, you’re like a total monster, aren’t you? Forget a
hobbit, you’re a...like a...oh, I don’t know. Some monster thing. You’re the
movie geek, not me!”

Finally, I let her pull me away and I gasped for breath. Connor
fell to his knees, bracing himself against the floor. He looked up at me wearily
and grimly.

“I take it you got that little talent from your birth father.
Angels don’t usually have anomalies like that to pass along.”

I reeled from what I’d done, staggering backward.

“I’m sorry.” I swallowed hard, clasping my hands together to
stop them from trembling. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’ll recover. You didn’t drain me too much.”

I rubbed my fists hard into my eyes as my control returned. “My
father was a demon who had an anomaly when he was converted from human.
Natalie’s was that she hungered for souls, that’s what made her the Source of
the grays when she came back here and started kissing people and infecting them
with her problem. My father, though...Natalie told me that he could absorb life
energy.”

“Sounds like a fun guy,” Jordan said shakily.

My stomach churned. “This can’t be happening. I—I already had
one hunger to deal with. Now the moment I get rid of that I’ve suddenly
developed this little addiction to supernatural energy?”

“How do you know it’s
supernatural
energy?” Jordan asked.

I looked at her. “I didn’t feel this way with Colin today at
school. Or with you. Only with Connor so far. He’s supernatural. You just have
some psychic stuff going on, but you’re still human.”

“Sounds like a good bet it’s supernatural only, then,” Connor
said. “Hooray?”

Jordan helped Connor to his feet, scowling at the both of us.
“Okay, angel-guy. Monster-girl told you her little wacko confession from hell.
Your turn. What do you know that can help us? What have you been hiding?”

She’d kept up nicely with tonight’s program. I couldn’t help
but be impressed that she hadn’t run away from here screaming after everything
she’d learned.

“Fine, I’ll share.” Connor scrubbed a hand over the top of his
scalp, then eyed both of us cautiously. “I knew when I came here that something
was messed up with the Hollow. Like, seriously messed up. That’s the main reason
they sent me as an unexpected addition to the team. Heaven knew the Hollow had a
leak into Trinity by then, and that was the link to the gray problem. They also
knew it was being caused purposefully by someone with an agenda. The leaky part
of the Hollow is trapped here, just like the grays are—like
we
are. The barrier keeps it from opening up anywhere else.”

I took this in. “So what was your mission?”

“To check it out. To observe. To see if I could figure out if
Heaven was right about who’s in control of something that isn’t supposed to have
a controller. The Hollow isn’t supposed to be a place you visit and then jump
back out. It’s a one-way ticket.”

Connor also knew that it was a
somebody
controlling the Hollow. It helped confirm what I already
knew. “It’s supposed to be Heaven and Hell’s garbage disposal.”

“Essentially. But it’s not that anymore.”

“Since when?”

“Since about seventeen years ago.”

My breath caught. “Seventeen years...”

That was when Natalie and my father—and my mother—were sent
into it.

“Nobody knows you exist, Sam.” Connor paced back and forth,
looking at me as if I was a ghost standing right here in front of him. “Nobody
knows a child came out of that relationship, only a whole heap of trouble. But
you know what? It explains a whole hell of a lot to me.”

“They killed my mother because she loved him.” My words were
quiet, but they were fueled by the outrage I’d felt about this since first
hearing the story. “They killed her with a dagger like Bishop’s and tossed her
into the Hollow like garbage. My father followed because he loved her and
couldn’t live without her—just like Roth nearly followed Cassandra if you all
hadn’t stopped him.”

His brows rose. “That’s some fairy tale.”

“Heaven was responsible for murdering my mother. All because
she loved somebody she wasn’t supposed to.” Tears streaked down my cheeks.
“How’s that for fair? How’s that for keeping the balance?”

“Who told you this?” he asked softly.

“What difference does it make?”

“A big one, actually. Because whoever told you this didn’t have
their facts straight—or they were straight-up lying to you.” There wasn’t an
ounce of humor on Connor’s face as he regarded me. “I was there, Sam. That night
when everything went down seventeen years ago. I was part of that team,
too.”

I couldn’t breathe. “
You
were?”

He nodded. “Damn—now, looking at you, I should have known from
the moment I saw you. You look a lot like your mom, but you got your coloring
from your dad. He had dark hair, brown eyes. Good-looking guy. Crazy as a loon,
but good-looking.”

“Crazy?”

“He was exiled from Hell. That was his punishment for falling
for an angel—no pun intended. You think we kill those who break a rule like that
without thinking twice? Way harsh. Exiling takes care of any universal balance
issues, especially when there is a list of previous offenses to go along with
it. Nathan’s tendency for draining other supernaturals of their life energy,
that handy little talent you seem to have inherited—although I was told he could
do it with humans, too—wasn’t welcomed with open arms. He did some damage before
they finally got the hint and gave him the boot. Anna, your mother, she would
have been given another chance in Heaven if she broke it off with him. But she
didn’t. She went to him immediately when she learned of his exile. I guess they
really were in love, I’ll give you that much. But he was no good for her. He
drained her energy a little at a time to keep a hold on his sanity now that he
was souled. My team was dispatched to take care of Natalie when she made her
last visit here. It became a two-for-one deal when your father got involved.
And, Anna...” Connor’s eyes were haunted. “She was weakened by how much he’d
been feeding on her and she...she got in the way. It was never supposed to be
her, Sam. It wasn’t. But she got in the way of my blade...”

I stared at him, stunned. “
You’re
the one who killed her.”

Connor blinked hard. “It was the worst moment of my entire
existence when I realized what happened.”

I could barely form words, my throat was so thick. “This is too
much.”

“I’m sorry, Sam.” His expression darkened. “It should never
have been Anna who was destroyed. But it all happened so fast. The Hollow took
her. And Nathan nearly killed all of us before he jumped in after her. Thought
that was the end of it. Wrong.”

Connor...it was
Connor
who’d killed
my birth mother. Natalie had told me a different story—told me Nathan and Anna
were part of the team to track down Natalie who’d escaped from Hell with her
little hunger problem. It was how they’d originally met.

And I’d believed every word.

I shoved Connor against the wall. “Are you lying to me?”

He looked at me bleakly. “If I was going to lie, I wouldn’t
admit being the one who killed your mother, would I?”

“Samantha,” Jordan said uneasily. “Don’t hurt him.”

I laughed at that, a hollow sound that hurt my throat. “Hurt
him? He’s an ageless, immortal angel. You really think I could hurt him?”

“Uh, yeah. I really do. Remember, it’s all fun and games until
somebody loses an eye. Or a wing. Or...whatever angels have worth losing.”

“Great,” I murmured. “Jordan Fitzpatrick, resident guardian
angel to angels.”

“I’m sorry, Sam,” Connor said again. “But none of this changes
anything. The Hollow and the one controlling it need to be dealt with. And it
needs to be soon.”

“Sounds like we’re going to have to have a long talk, Connor.”
Another voice cut through my concentration. I swiveled to see Bishop standing at
the end of the hall, just past the open door. “You’ve been keeping information
from the rest of us?”

“How much did you hear?” Connor asked grimly.

“More than enough.”

I stepped back from Connor and crossed my arms as the other
angel drew closer.

Adam Drake. Guilty of the murder of twenty-five victims
including his older brother, James. Sentenced to death by hanging for his
crimes.

Connor hissed out a breath. “I was told not to say anything.
Not until I knew more.”

“And what do you know now?” Bishop’s voice was low and
dangerous.

“It’s my father,” I said quietly as the pieces clicked
together. “I’m right, aren’t I, Connor? It’s him. He’s the one in control of the
Hollow. He’s the one who let Natalie out, who let Marissa out. He’s trying to
distract—who? You guys? The city? Everybody? What’s his big plan? What’s he
trying to do?”

Connor nodded. “Heaven believes that Nathan used his ability to
absorb energy to essentially draw the power of the Hollow into himself fueled by
his rage and grief over what happened with Anna.”

“What else does Heaven believe that they didn’t bother to tell
me?” Bishop asked.

“This was all decided after you left, so don’t take it
personally.” Connor grimaced. “They believe he’s still trapped inside, that
absorbing the power of the Hollow changed him in ways that prevent him from
escaping.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, right?” Jordan said. “If there’s a
badass, hate-filled demon who can suck up energy and kill people with a touch, I
think it’s probably good that he can’t get out.”

“If he’s not in the Hollow itself, he’s well hidden. Watching,
waiting.” Connor shook his head. “But for what? I haven’t figured that out
yet.”

“Natalie and Marissa were tests,” I said, feeling cold.

“I’m sure of it.” Connor nodded. “And we took them both down.
Nathan must know this and he’ll...adjust his plans—whatever they are. There’s
only one problem I can think of now.”

“Only one?” Jordan regarded him like he’d just grown another
head. “Wow, you must be looking at a whole other craptastic situation than the
one
I’m
looking at.”

Connor eyed her. “Who invited you here again?”

“That would be me.” I tried not to be even slightly amused by
Jordan’s bluntness. Everybody was the victim of it, not just me. “So what’s the
problem you can see?”

Connor looked directly at me. “You are.”

I gaped at him. “Me?”

“If we’re right about the ultimate threat being Nathan, then he
must know you’re here. It’s too big of a coincidence otherwise. Why would he
release Natalie into your city in particular?”

Damn. He had a point. A really pointy one.

I felt Bishop’s searing gaze on the side of my face like fire
and finally risked a look directly at him.

“What?”

“You told Connor your secret?”

“Yeah, I told him.”

He groaned. “Fantastic. We definitely need to talk.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Trust me, Bishop. We’re talking, and not
only about me being a blabbermouth about my paranormal parentage. I need time to
wrap my head around my birth father being the potential big bad of the entire
universe. Actually, come to think of it. Let’s talk
now.
”

Bishop’s brows rose as he regarded me cautiously. “All
right.”

“Stay here,” I told Jordan.

Her brows were raised, as well. “Wow, did you just change into
your bitch pants? Relax, monster-girl. I won’t budge an inch.”

I sent a dirty look at her then turned to walk down the hall
past Bishop and toward the door. I shoved it open and went outside, inhaling the
cold air deep into my lungs and trying to do as Jordan suggested and relax.

Yeah, right. That was currently impossible.

The door creaked shut behind Bishop. “Want to fill me in on
what’s going on? What are you doing here?”

I let out a long, shaky breath. “In a nutshell? I remembered
something Connor said that made me think he knew more than he was letting on. I
was right. And I had another vision—another apocalyptic-style one like the one I
had the night I met you. The city destroyed, sucked into the Hollow. Nothing
left. But there was a voice in my head this time telling me that I was a part of
it. That whoever is behind all of this needs my help. It’s my father. It’s him.
He’s controlling the Hollow and he’s still driven by grief and hate after losing
my mother. He wants revenge.”

“You might be right. But you still shouldn’t have said anything
to Connor about what you are.” Bishop’s face was etched in concern and he came
closer to me, taking me by my arms to turn me to face him. “It’s too dangerous.
If Heaven finds out about your secret...you won’t be safe.”

“Screw secrets,” I blurted out. “Seriously, just screw them.
I’m sick of it. Secrets have messed everything up. I have my father’s hunger
now. I don’t crave souls anymore like a gray, but I crave supernatural energy
just like my father did. That’s how he was able to allegedly suck up the Hollow
and mess everything up. And he sent my aunt out to be some sort of a foot
soldier for him, to tell me lies and try to get me to join their side. Lies and
secrets. They only make everything worse. Know what I mean, Adam?”

“I know it’s been difficult for you, but you have to listen to
me. You have to...” His voice trailed off and his blue eyes widened. “What did
you just call me?”

The night went quiet all around us so all I could hear was the
sound of my heart pounding hard against my rib cage. “Adam.”

He let go of me and took a step backward. “That’s not my
name.”

“Yes, it is.” I clasped my hands together to keep them from
trembling. “Adam Drake. It’s your name, so don’t even try lying to me. Like I
said, I’m sick of lies and secrets. You could have told me the truth, but you
didn’t. I had to hear it from somebody else.”